Mower



MOWER f N. D. coLvlN Filed sept. 28, 1944 !f Ilm 'May 24, 4w49.

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RN mw mw VD. mm L O `N ATTORNEYS Patented May 24,' 1949 MOWER Nolan D. Colvin, Moline, Ill., assignor to Deere & Company, Moline, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application september 2s, 1944, serial No. 556,233

3 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to mowers and more particularly to mowers of the class adapted to be propelled by a tractor or other power driven vehicle. My invention is best adapted to that class of tractor mowers which is supported on its own wheels and trails behind a tractor, although it is not necessarily limited to this type of mower.

Heretofore, mowers of this type have been subject to the objection that when the cutter bar encounters an obstruction in the field during operation, the cutter bar and mower are swung about in a horizontal plane until the wheels of the mower are dragged sideways, plowing into the ground and sometimes causing damage to the equipment. Although this difficulty has been overcome by using caster wheels on the mower, it is then necessary to provide a laterally rigid mounting for the mower frame on the rear of the tractor, for a simple pivot connection in combination with castering wheels would not prevent the ordinary amount of friction between the cutter bar and the ground during normal operation, from dragging the cutter bar rearwardly to a rearwardly inclined position.

The principal object of my invention, therefore, relates to the provision of a wheel supported mower adapted to be connected to a tractor or other draft device by a single draft pin and having wheels that are normally rigidly i held in fore and aft extending planes, but which is not subject to the difculties mentioned above when the mower encounters an obstruction, which swings the cutter bar rearwardly. In the accomplishment of this object I have mounted the cutter bar on a wheel supported frame which is pivotally connected to the draft frame for horizontal swinging movement about a vertical pivot axis, and I provide dirigible wheels for the frame of the cutter bar, which are provided with a novel steering linkage that maintains the wheels in fore and aft extending planes of revolution at all times, even when the mower supporting frame is swung rearwardly due to the cutter bar encountering an obstruction in the field. Thus, the mower rolls smoothly forward even when the cutter bar is in its trailing position.

' These and other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following description, in which reference is had to the drawings appended hereto, in which Figure l is a plan view of a mower embodying the principles of myvinvention, shown in solid lines in normal operating position, while in broken lines the cutter bar with its supporting frame is shown in its rearwardly trailing position.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view, taken in section along line 2-2 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the power shaft for transmitting power to the mower from the power take-off shaft of the tractor. This shaft has been omitted from Figures l and 2 for the sake of clearness.

Referring now to the drawings, the mower is indicated in its entirety by reference numeral 3 and comprises a draft frame 4 and a cutter bar supporting frame indicated generally by reference numeral 5.

The draft frame 4 comprises a tongue 6 extending fore and aft and is pivotally supported at its forward end on the drawbar 'I of a tractor or other draft vehicle, by means of a draft pin 8 extending vertically through aligned apertures in the adjacent ends of the drawbar 'I and tongue 6, respectively. The rear end of the tongue 6 is pivotally connected to the cutter bar supporting frame 5 by means of a vertical coupling pin 9 providing for relative horizontal angling movement between the two frames 4, 5.

The cutter bar supporting frame comprises a main transversely disposed axle beam I2 in the form of a hollow rectangular structural member, which is pivoted to the rear end of the draft tongue 6 by means of the vertical coupling pin 9, intermediate the ends of the beam I2. At each end of the axle beam I2 is mounted a dirigible ground engaging wheel I3 on which the cutter bar supporting frame 5 is supported. Each of the wheels I3 is journaled on a transverse stub axle I4, which is rigidly fixed to a vertical spindle I5 journaled in the associated end of the axle beam I2. At the upper end of each of the vertical spindles I5 is a steering arm I6 which is rigidly fixed to the spindle and extends horizontally forwardly therefrom. The forward ends of the two steering arms I6 are interconnected by a transverse link II, the opposite ends of which are pivoted at I8 to the front ends of the arms I6, respectively. The link II extends transversely over the draft tongue 6 and is provided with a hub I9 journaled on a vertical pin 20 which is fixed to the draft tongue 6. The two steering arms I6 are preferably equal in length and parallel, as are the link I'I and axle beam I2 between the spindles I5, thus forming a parallelogram. This parallelogram arrangement insures that the wheels I3 are maintained in fore` and aft extending paralle1 planes regardless of the angular position of the axle beam I2 with respect to the draft tongue 6, as indicated by the angled position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.

The cutter bar can be of any conventional type and is provided with the usual reciprocating knife or sickle 26. The inner end of the cutter bar 25 is mounted on the usual shoe 21, which is pivotally supported on a conventional shoe arch 28 by means of a pair of longitudinally spaced pivot bolts 29 provided for vertical swinging movement of the transverse cutter bar 25 about Cil the fore and aft extending axis of the bolts 29.

The cutter bar and shoe are positioned ahead o1 one of the wheels I3 and the arch 26 is sup- 1 ported on a transverse sleeve portion 99 which is mounted on the end of a supporting arm 3l, which inclines inwardly, upwardly, and rearwardly and has a rearwardly turned end portion 33 which is journaled in a bearing 32 for vertical swingingmovernent aboutl a longitudinally extending axis, in a manner well-known to those skilled in the art, which provides for vertical hifting of the cutter bar 25 and supporting shoe The sickle 26 is recipr'ocated'by means of a pitman 35 connected by the'usual ball and socket joint 9G to the sickle 26 and extending transversely inwardly and having on its inner end'a crank bearing 31 which is journaled on a crank pin 38 fixed to the front face of a ilywheel'39. The flywheel 39 is mounted on a longitudinally extending drive shaft 40, which is journaled in a fore and ait extending bearing sleeve 4I. The

rear end of the bearing sleeve lll is supported :t:

on a bracket 42 depending from the main axle beam I2, while the forward end is mounted on a front bracket 43 bolted to the vertical flange of a structural angle member M, which is bent into a semi-circular arc and rigidly fixed at its opposite ends to the axle beam i2. A similar semi-circular angle member 45 is disposed above the member A and is attached at its ends to the top side of the axle beam I2. The vertical distance between the upper and lower semi-circular members 45, dal is suicient to provide a slot between the horizontal il'anges 46 of the two semicircular members, which slot receives the draft tongue 6 in sliding relation. The two horizontal an'ges 46 are interconnected by a bracket 41 serving as a spacer betweenthe horizontal flanges and also serving as a stop to limit the angular movement between the lframes l and 5 in one direction. Other spacing members are 'xecl between the horizontal flanges 46 on the opposite side of the tongue adjacent the cutter bar, for the tongue is never swung into an angle of less than ninety degrees on the side adjacent the cutter bar.

A U-shaped bracket 5U is bolted to the forward end-l of the sleeve 4I and curves under the flywheel 39,V the forward leg serving to support the inner end of a drag link 5I which is pivotally connected to the front leg of the bracket 59 by means of a pivot bolt 52. The outer end of the drag link 5I is connected to the shoe arch 28 and serves to brace the latter against rearward movement on the outer end of the arm 3l.

Thus, it is now evident that the cutter bar supporting frame 5 includes the main beam I2, the upper and lower semi-circular guide member 45, M, the drive shaft supporting sleeve 9i, and the U-shaped bracket 50,'while the cutter Ibar 25 is mounted on the frame 5 by means of the arm 3l and drag link 5I. The supporting freine `4 5 together with the cutter bar 25 is swingable horizontally about the Vertical axis of the coupling pin 9 relative to the tongue 6. During normal operation, however, the relative angular movement between the frames 4, 5 is restrained by means of a releasable latch mechanism including a latch dog hingedly supported at 56 on a fore and aft extending frame member 51 xed at its rear end to the transverse beam I2 and fixed near its forward end between the two horizontal flanges 46 of the semi-circular members. The frame member 51 extends forwardly between the semi-circular members fill, (l5 to carry the hinge 56. The latch dog 55 engages alug 58 fixedly mounted on the top of the draft tongue 6 and the latch 55 is urged into engagement with the lug 58 by means of a coil spring 59 which bears against the top of the latch 55 and reacts against a bolt 60 extending downwardly through the spring 59 and anchored to the frame member 51. This type of latch mechanism is well-known tov those skilled in the art and can be adjusted by adjusting the bolt 6U to increase or decrease the compression in the spring 59 so that during normal operation the latch holdsA the cutter bar and its supporting frame in normal operating position with the cutter bar 25 extending transversely of the direction of travel, but when the cutter bar encounters an obstruction vin the field,l such as a stone or stump which would tend to cause damage to the machine, the excess'draft force causes latch 55 to yield and permit the cutterv'bary and its supporting frame to swing in a clockwisev direction as viewed in Figure 1 toward the trailing position indicatedin dotted lines. The linkA I1 pivots about the vertical axis of the boli/2E! on the tongue 6`andswings the spindles I5 through the arms I6 to hold the wheels- I9 in parallel far planes extending fore and aft in the direction of travel, thereby avoiding the disadvantage oi having the wheels dragged sideways over the ground, as they would do' if they were journaled on the axisA of the beam I2.

The cutter bar 25 is'raised and lowered by means of a control lever 65 pivotally mounted at 66 on a bracket 61'xed to theside of the draft tongue 6 near the forward end thereof. The lever 65 is provided with a latch device 5S which is engageable with a 'notch 69 on the forward end of the bracket 61' to hold the cutter bar in raised position for purposes of transport. The lever 65 is connected througha tension rod 55 to a chain 10 which' is trained around a sheave 1I journaled on a :bracket 12 xed tothe top side of the axle beam I2 adjacent the coupling pin 9. The chain 16 extends forwardlyv around the sheave 1IA and is connected to an` arm 13 on a rocks-haft'll, which is j'ournaled in a pair of laterally spaced bearings 15 that are mounted on the frame member 51 and on the upper semicircular guide member d5, respectively. The outer end of the rockshaft is bent forwardly at 19 to provide a lifting arm which is connected through a link 11 to the shoe arch 28 in a manner' well-known to those skilled in the art. A vert-ical arm 18 is rigidly fixed to the rockshaft 15 and is connected to the forward end of a tension spring the rear end of which is anchored by means of a bolt BI to a bracket E2 extending rearwardly from the transverse beam I2.

Power is transmitted to drive the sickle 26r through the pitman 35, which is journaled on the crank 3B, by means of a V-belt 85 trained over a sheave Bt'mounte'd on the rear end vof the shaft 40, and is also trained over a drive sheave 81 which is journaled on a drive shaft 88 and is connected thereto by means of a suitable slip clutch mechanism 89 of a type well-known to those skilled in the art. The drive shaft 89 is 5 journaled in a bearing 90 mounted on a bracket 9| which is secured to the top of the axle beam l2 over the coupling pin 9. The forward end of the drive shaft 88 is connected through a universal joint 93 to a power shaft 9d comprising a pair of telescopically related shaft elements. The forward end of the shaft 94 is journaled in a bearing 95 which is swingably supported on the conventional fore and aft swingable standard 96. The forward end of the shaft 94 is connected through a pair of universal joints 91, 98 and a connecting shaft section 99 to the power takeoi shaft |00 of the tractor. This type of power shaft connection is well-known to those skilled in the art and is preferably of the type disclosed in Patent 2,349,923 granted to Anderson, Arnold and Paradise, May 30, 1944, to which reference can be made for a detailed description of the power connection.

I do not intend my invention to be limited to the specific details shown and described herein, except as set forth in the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. A mower of the trailing type, comprising a generally longitudinally extending draft tongue having means thereon for a single point of connection on a vertical pivot axis to a source of draft power; a cutter-bar-supporting frame disposed generally transversely to the tongue, and including a laterally extending cutter bar; means including a vertical pivot, spaced longitudinally of the aforesaid pivot axis, for connecting the frame to the tongue for rearward swinging of `the frame and cutter bar about said pivot with respect to the tongue when the cutter bar strikes an obstruction and for forward return movement of said frame and cutter bar to normal position Vwhen such obstruction is cleared; releasable means connected between the tongue and frame and normally holding the frame and cutter bar 45 against swinging; a wheel-mounting portion on the frame spaced laterally of said vertical pivot and thereby movable generally fore and aft as said frame and cutter bar swing as aforesaid; a ground-engaging wheel steerably mounted on said portion for carrying the frame; and means including a steering link connected to the wheel and pivotally connected to the tongue at a point spaced longitudinally from the aforesaid frame pivot lfor holding the wheel substantially in straight-ahead position to prevent lateral shifting of the tongue as it trails behind the source of draft power, said link providing for maintaining the wheel in substantially straight-ahead position as it shifts fore and aft when the frame and cutter bar swing rearwardly and return forwardly as aforesaid.

2. A mower of the trailing type, comprising a generally longitudinally extending draft tongue having means thereon for a single point of coni` nection on a vertical pivot axis to a source of draft power; a cutter-bar-supporting fra-me disposed generally transversely to the tongue, and including a laterally extending cutter bar; means including a vertical pivot, spaced longitudinally of the aforesaid pivot axis, for connecting the frame to the tongue for rearward swinging of the frame and cutter bar about said pivot with respect to the tongue when the cutter bar strikes an obstruction and for forward return movement of said frame and cutter bar to normal position when such obstruction is cleared; releasable means connected between the tongue and frame and normally holding the frame and cutter bar against swinging; a pair of wheel-mounting portions on the frame spaced laterally apart with the aforesaid frame pivot between them and thereby subject to fore and aft movement as said frame and cutter bar swing rearwardly and forwardly as aforesaid; wheels respectively mounted on said portions for carrying the frame; means including steering linkage interconnecting the wheels and connected to the tong-ue on a vertical pivot spaced longitudinally of the frame pivot, for holding the wheels in substantially straightahead positions to prevent lateral shifting of the tongue as it trails behind the source of draft power, said linkage providing for maintaining said wheels in substantially straight-ahead positions as they move fore and aft when the frame and Acutter bar swing rearwardly and return forwardly as aforesaid.

3. An implement of the type propelled by a source of propelling power via a force transmittingmember having a single point of connection on a vertical pivot axis to the propelling source, comprising a frame disposed generally transversely to the member; means including a vertical pivot, spaced longitudinally of the aforesaid pivot axis, for connecting the frame to the member for rearward swinging of the frame about said pivot with respect to the member and for forward return movement of said frame to normal position; releasable means connected between the member and frame and normally holding the frame against swinging; a wheel mounting portion on the frame spaced laterally of said vertical pivot and thereby movable generally fore and aft as said frame swings as aforesaid; a ground-engaging wheel steerably mounted on said portion for carrying the frame; and means including a steering link connected to the wheel and pivotally connected to the member at a point spaced longitudinally from the aforesaid frame pivot for holding the wheel substantially in straight-ahead position to prevent lateral shifting of the member as it is propelled, said link providing for maintaining the wheel in substantially straight-ahead position as it shifts fore and aft when the frame swings rearwardly and returns forwardly as aforesaid.

NOLAN D. COLVIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ie of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 950,604 Rogers Mar. 1, 1910 1,974,410 Caughey Sept. 25, l1934 2,198,910 Everett Apr. 30, 1940 2,225,156 Coultas Dec. 17, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 679,481 France Jan. 9, 1930 

